Only A Dream
by ruk182
Summary: Something strange has been happening: whenever Alice sleeps, she returns to Wonderland. She thinks it's only a dream, but the Mad Hatter can see her there. As things seem to more and more unusual, they're in danger of being stuck in the wrong world. On a very long haitus, apparently. Sorry.
1. Chapter 1

Today was going to be another sad day... another bad day, lonely day, exhausting day, depressing day, awful day, hurtful day, tiring day, long day, boring day, thought filled day, horrifying day... a painful day. Just another Alice-less day for the Mad Hatter.

He awoke-- well, you wouldn't say 'awoke', as he never really slept-- with a smile on his face as usual, but he didn't look the same until he had placed his magnificent hat upon his head. How he missed it while he was in bed... so he did sometimes leave it on when he went to bed.

He looked as if he hadn't gotten a wink of sleep. Of course, he probably did because this was true. He couldn't sleep. He could sometimes ignore the voices in his head long enough to sleep an hour or two. The whispering sometimes even lulled him to sleep. But the voices had grown louder, and angrier. They all said the same thing. They all asked him for the same thing. He knew they wouldn't give him peace until he fulfilled their wishes: Alice.

Alice, Alice, Alice... Everything seemed to be about Alice.

The Mad Hatter sighed, though he smiled at the nervous wreck across from him.

"You're late for tea!" cried the March Hare, as an object flew over the Hatter's head. He ducked, and it missed by a few centimeters. The Hare looked about anxiously, as though someone was watching him from the woods and was going to punish him for his actions.

"I do apologize, my old friend," he said cheerfully, "but I don't recall sleeping last night. I don't think I slept a wink..." He allowed a look of sadness to flash across his face, but he snapped right back into his normal self and smiled once more. Though his smile wasn't that convincing.

"I wish Alice were here. She wouldn't be late! She was never late!" The Hare cackled with laughter for reasons unknown to the Hatter.

"Actually she was very late to come here, am I correct?" The Dormouse, too, laughed maniacally, and the Hatter joined in. They all had such good fun. "But I miss Alice terribly."

"As do I," the Hatter added casually, tidal waves of sorrow washing over his friends. The mood got somehow darker as the Hare began to sob  
loudly while his laughter continued. Not very unusual for him.

The rest of the tea party carried on in silence, with the exception of the occasional cries of the Hare, of course. The three of them didn't want to upset each other further. And the Hare and Dormouse didn't take much pleasure in the Hatter's sadness.

* * *

Alice couldn't believe her eyes. Could she really be back in her precious Wonderland? All she knew was that she was in a peculiar looking forest. She was afraid to pinch herself, as it could only be a dream. But she must try to find her friends while she could.

She ran through the woods, trying desperately to see something she recognized. She stopped and examined her surroundings. She had no idea where she was, but she could hear laughter and saw a light, and she ran toward it.

She burst through the trees and into a clearing. In the middle of the dim light that broke through the thick canopy of leaves sat a table. It was bare, except for a tattered and stained white table cloth spread over the surface of it. She could still hear the laughter even though there seemed to be no one in sight.

"Hatter? Dormouse? Hare? Oh, where are you?!" she cried.

"You know this is only a dream," came the familiar voice of the Chesire Cat from behind.

"Of course! I couldn't have simply returned to Wonderland just like that... No, it'd be far to easy," she sighed, turning to see his  
bodiless head floating above her. His eyes sparkled and his smile was as dazzling as usual.

"Then why are you looking for everyone?" he asked. He looked her as though she were mad. He did a flip in midair, and his body appeared as he eased himself into the crease of a tree branch. "Why bother if you're only going to wake up again?"

"Because, I'd like to see my friends again. What's so wrong with that?"

"Wait, Alice..?!"

* * *

Alice awoke with a start. She looked around her poorly lit quarters and sighed. Of course it had only been dream. She was still on her way to China. And she was still NOT in Wonderland.

She could see the sun rise through the small window in the top corner of her room. It was a beautiful mixture of red and purple, but it wasn't very good news for all of the sailors out in the waters today. She had a feeling there was storm coming their way.

Alice was disappointed that she has been unable to see her friends before she woke up, but at least she had had a chance to see the Chesire Cat. She couldn't help but like him. She couldn't help but feel that the dream had been somewhat real.

Why could she remember everything so vividly? Who had been calling her name as she woke up? And why was she now wearing the dress she wore in Wonderland?

* * *

The Hatter would have begun to fear for his sanity, had he not lost it long ago. He didn't know if he had actually seen Alice, or if it had just been his imagination.

He asked the Chesire Cat who had been nearby if he had seen her too. He replied plainly, "No." And the Hatter walked away disappointed, yet unable to believe the Cat. He was sure of what he seen. He knew she had been standing there for sure now.

He went to bed still thinking about what he had seen. Some of the voices screamed at him to let it go, while others told him to get to the bottom of if. But all of them said something about eventually finding Alice. He never did anything without his voices, so he was completely unsure of what to do.

But there was one voice inside of him that gave him a pleasing message. It sounded like something a proper parent-- something he never had-- would say.

Follow your heart...

A/N: Okay, I know it be pretty random 'n all, but I just got home from the movie when I decided to write a fic about it. I was disapointed nothing really happened between Alice and the Hatter, okay? Don't be judging!


	2. Chapter 2

"No, it was Alice! I'm sure of it!" The Hatter was determined to convince his friends of what he had seen. When he had first metioned seeing Alice, the March Hare had gone into a horrible tantrum for no aparent reason. And the lack of belief and trust his friends showed him put the Hatter in a dark mood. Now he was only half smiling. "Oh, please, you must believe that I saw her!"

"I hate it when people lie to me!" sobbed the Hare, pouring some tea through one of the many broken cups again.

"Hatter! Stop it!" cried the Dormouse, as the Hare dropped his cup and threw himself on the plate of biscuts. "Look, you're only upsetting him." She took a biscut from the plate and held it up for him to see. "He's getting my precious biscuts all soggy. Drop it."

"But-"

"I said drop it!"

The Hatter could see the Chesire Cat in the distance, grinning evily. He must have Alice. How could he not have? The Cat was his only witness, but he knew he would never tell him the truth. Well, maybe in exchange for his hat... No, he would have to find another way to prove that he had seen Alice.

* * *

What was this place? The Hatter had never seen this place before. This meant he had a new place to explore! How delightful.

He turned to his right to find a large mirror with a golden frame covered with drawings of what apeared to be ivy winding around it. His reflection was a more pleasing sight than usual, as the bags under his eyes were nowhere to be seen. He looked almost well rested! How unusual...

The room wasn't very well lit. His eyes soon ajusted to the darkness, though, and he could see the rest of the room. It seemed to be round, and-- how he somehow failed to notice, nobody knows-- there was a brownish liquid that rose to his knees. He bent over, and collected a small sample by cupping his hands. He rose his makeshift cup to his lips and drank it.

"...tea? How wonderful!"

All of a sudden, the room seemed began to tremble and then it tipped up, making the Hatter lose his balance. He flew across the room and hit his head on the wall. A rushing wave of the tea sent him spinning around and around down a dark tunnel towards a bright light. As he grew closer, he could see the face of his good friend the March Hare.

The Hatter burst out into the light, and could see what he had just come out of: the spout of a teapot. He fell through the air, spinning so much he thought he would be sick. In the end, he raised his hands above his head and cheered, thinking of it as good fun. He finally stopped falling as he landed in a cup as more tea poured in. Luckily, there had already been some in the cup to cushion his fall.

The flow of tea stopped, but his clothes were completely soaked. He stood in the gigantic cup shivering. He could feel that he was being moved again through the air. Soon after, the Hatter was facing a lip. Sratch that, two lips. Painted a dark red, too. The face they belonged to seemed pale... or perhaps it was makeup?

"Oh my! It's me!" he cried, looking up at his larger self. "I think I'm about to drink myself. How concerning..."

The lips parted slightly as the edge of the cup was moved closer and closer. The Hatter gasped when his larger self began to drink. A rushing wave of tea swept him off his feet and he flew into his own mouth.

And just like that, he swallowed himself.

The Hatter went tumbling down the dark tunnel of his throat, and couldn't help but notice that everytime he hit the side of his throat, his own became more and more irritated. Well, it was his throat after all... He screamed and waved his arms, knowing what awaited him below would not be a pleasant end.

* * *

"Hatter! Hatter, wake up." The face that greeted the Hatter upon awakening was that of an angel. She was obviously very young. Brown eyes... curly golden hair... "I think you've had an unpleasant dream."

"Alice! What a surprise! You see, I got drunk! By myself," he replied cheerfully, hopping out of bed.

"Umm, okay. You sleep fully clothed?" she asked curiously, examining him. Her eyes fell upon his feet. "With your shoes on?"

"Of course! Don't you?" Alice laughed and shook her head. "Oh, well, how long will you be staying?" Alice shrugged her shoulders.

"I'm not quite sure. Actally, I think this only dream." She looked sad, but sure of herself.

"But I can see you. It can't be a dream. Oh Alice! This is truly wonderful! We shall have so much fun," he told her enthusiastically. "First, the March Hare will want to see you. And then we shall have to pay a visit to the Queen, and- and, well... I'd very much like to cook you a special supper. I've been practicing my cooking and I think it's improved quite a bit. But you'll have to tell me yourself! Right Alice?"

"I don't know, maybe... maybe some other time. Okay?" She had to admit she was a little shocked. Had the Hatter just asked her on a date?

"Oh, that's fine..." The Hatter smiled, even though he was filled with dissapointment. He had never been rejected before, as he had never really asked such a thing of anyone before. How foolish he had been! "Shall we go find the March Hare then?"

"Of course!" The Hatter held out his arm for her, but she never took it. He looked back to see what was wrong.

Alice was gone.

A/N: Sorry! I know this chapter is short and it took a while, but I thought it was a good place to stop, and I got stuck after he came out of the teapot. Sorry! Again!


End file.
